Principles of Insurance

• Utmost Good Faith


  A contract of insurance must be made based on utmost good faith. It is important that the insured disclose all relevant facts to the insurance company. Any facts that would increase his premium amount, or would cause any prudent insurer to reconsider the policy must be disclosed. If it is later discovered that some such fact was hidden by the insured, the insurer will be within his rights to void the insurance policy
• Insurable Interest


  This means that the insurer must have some pecuniary interest in the subject matter of the insurance. This means that the insurer need not necessarily be the owner of the insured property but he must have some vested interest in it. If the property is damaged the insurer must suffer from some financial losses.
• Indemnity


  Insurances like fire and marine insurance are contracts of indemnity. Here the insurer undertakes the responsibility of compensating the insured against any possible damage or loss that he may or may not suffer. Life insurance is not a contract of indemnity.
• Subrogation


  This principle says that once the compensation has been paid, the right of ownership of the property will shift from the insured to the insurer. So the insured will not be able to make a profit from the damaged property or sell it.
• Contribution


  This principle applies if there is more than one insurer. In such a case, the insurer can ask the other insurers to contribute their share of the compensation. If the insured claims full insurance from one insurer, he loses his right to claim any amount from the other insurers.
• Proximate Cause


  This principle states that the property is insured only against the incidents that are mentioned in the policy. In case the loss is due to more than one such peril, the one that is most effective in causing the damage is the cause to be considered